A bill that would ban discrimination of Alabama state employees over sexual orientation will be named after Apple CEO Tim Cook. The "Tim Cook Bill" will be introduced by Democratic state representative Patricia Todd, Alabama's only openly gay lawmaker. Cook, who was born in Alabama, became the first Fortune 500 CEO to come out as gay in October. After Cook shared the news, Todd said that she would name the bill after the 54-year-old CEO, a statement she later backed off after saying that her comments were not meant to be taken seriously, according to Reuters. But it turns out that Cook, who wrote that he was "proud to be gay" in an editorial in Bloomberg Businessweek, is behind the idea. "Tim was honored to hear that State Rep. Todd wanted to name an anti-discrimination bill after him, and we're sorry if there was any miscommunication about it," Apple told NBC News in a statement. "We have a long history of support for LGBT rights and we hope every state will embrace workplace equality for all."
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